“He said: I have
outsiders who want to see Glevanne Addets, Falcon Cave.” Valkin heard her say
this, and turned around.

“Would you speak to the
guard in our language? I think you may have a better chance of getting in if he
knows you know our speech.” He said. Mary nodded.

“I’ll try.” She said to
him, then, looking at the guard, she spoke in the elfin tongue. “je kentre
koona Glevanne Addets.” She said. This time Valkin translated for Justin and
Duncan.

“She said: We would
like to see Glevanne Addets.” He said, himself still amazed at her wisdom of
their language. At the sound of the human girl speaking his language, the
guard, whose name we now know, softened visibly.

“Nedin, a cesik.” She
replied. (Yes, a little.) Saden, for this was the guard’s name, looked at her.

“j retin gresu tu
Glevanne seshi adenne.” He said, (I will speak to Glevanne for you [feminine].)
and closed the door.Mary returned to
the group she had left temporarily and shrugged her shoulders.

“Do ye think it will
help?” she asked. Valkin nodded, a smile on his face.

“Yes, you will get in.
Saden is not nearly as bad-tempered as he seems.” He said. Mary smiled.

“Tha’ be good to ken.”
She returned. They were silent, all waiting for the guard to return.

When he did, the door
swung open silently, and the small group went in. Mary did not forget to thank
Sadin, who retuned her thanks with a gruff, “j fetik jaeta.” (I did nothing.)

The children followed
Valkin down the majestic hall and Justin gazed open mouthed at the high vaulted
ceilings and strong stone walls, covered with tapestries illustrating gory
battle scenes or portraits of kings and queens of the elfish kingdom. The floor
was made of marble, painted over with beautiful gothic designs.Justin, at the end of the line, traced one of
the designs with his foot, marveling at its delicate detail. Duncan, in the
middle, looked in delight at one of the tapestries, the solemn look on the
man’s face almost made him laugh, but he swallowed it quickly realizing that it
may offend the elves. Mary, also in the middle, looked all around her, her gaze
at last resting on a tall tapestry with a woman on it. Something about the
queen reminded Mary of someone, the sorrowful smile, the flowing hair, the
shape of her face.

She stopped suddenly,
as Valkin walked by it, causing Duncan to run into her, and Justin run into
Duncan. The boys both yelped in surprise and Valkin turned around, giving them
all a warning frown.

“You must not speak
loudly,” he said, proving his point by speaking in a stern, soft voice. The
boys hung their heads guiltily, but Mary stood still, looking at the tapestry
carefully. Valkin returned and watched her as her eyes studied the face.

“Who be this woman?”
she asked softly, her eyes not leaving the face. Valkin looked up at the face
for the first time, and looked at it for a long while, when he at last spoke,
his voice was full of respect and awe.

“This lady is the
king’s mother. She is no longer with us.” His voice grew sad. “It is a great
sorrow for my people, for she was a wise and just counselor for the king. Now
he is growing old, and his new counselor…” his voice sank into a whisper, “his counselor,
some say, is an evil elf who intends to take over the kingdom by marrying the
king’s daughter, Shetta Gloriheem.” Valkin said all this while looking at the
tapestry, so he did not see the glances the three siblings exchanged behind his
back when the name was spoken. A short silence went over the four as they
looked up at the woman in respect, although the three children never knew her.
It was broken by Valkin, who sighed and beckoned the humans to follow him again.

They continued their
way to a door on the other side of the hall, but long before they reached it,
Valkin turned to a smaller door, and slapped his hand against it as he did with
the front gate of the castle. A window opened, and another guard (they soon
found out his name was Dusak Aknae [Hawk Meadow]) had a quiet converse with
Valkin, who seemed to know him better than Saden Flettica, the first guard.
Soon, Mary was called upon to again speak to the new guard in the elfin speech.
The guard looked at her quizzically when she stepped up.

“Nedin, a cesik.” (Yes,
a little.) She replied. Dusak turned to Valkin.

“j retin gresu tu
Glevanne Addets seshi, adek.” (I will speak to Glevanne Addets for you.) He
said, and with a quick smile, disappeared. Again, the group waited. Valkin
chuckling to himself about something he had shared with the young elfish guard.
Soon, Dusak returned, and opened the door. The four people were ushered into a
warm room. A servant girl came and took Justin and Duncan’s jackets, Mary’s
shawl, and Valkin’s cape. The servant and Valkin smiled softly at each other,
and to the three children’s surprise, they hugged. Valkin saw their shock, and
he chuckled, leading the servant over to them.

“This is my sister,
Vinea Aknae (Vixen Meadow). She is the wife of Dusak here.” The boys’ mouths
stayed open, but Mary smiled warmly at the young servant girl, and very soon
the two were friends.

“j dani.” (I
apologize.) He said. Vinea shrugged her shoulders and took the coats away to a
different room, and her husband, Dusak, led the small group to a staircase. Again,
Valkin and the guard conversed in under tones, and soon, the guard left Valkin
to guide them alone.

They went up the
staircase and found themselves before a long hall. Valkin seemed to know
exactly where he was going, so the three children didn’t contradict his judgment.
The four arrived at yet another door, but this time, when Valkin gave the slap
of his hand, no guard appeared. Glevanne himself opened the door. The children
realized this because Valkin bowed his head in respect, and they quickly
followed his example. Glevanne spoke in a language the children could
understand, realizing that they were not elves.

“Why have you come
here.” He said in a tired voice. The siblings looked up in wonder, all of them
becoming conscience of the fact that Glevanne was not an old man, in reality,
he was quite a young man, and handsome. He continued, unaware of their
astonishment. “The king does not like visitors at this moment. I am surprised
that you have made it this far. Valkin must be a very good guide.” He said this
with a smile towards the guide, who took the hint and left, the door closing
with a solid thunk. “What is it that
you want to tell me that is so important that you must risk a long
imprisonment.” Justin looked worriedly at the door.

“Can no one hear us?”
he asked. The elf looked at him.

“Why do you ask?” he
replied.

“Because we must show
you a secret.” Glevanne looked slightly puzzled, but assured the children that
they were indeed alone. Justin gave a sigh of relief, and took out the note,
handing it to the elf. He looked at it. With a glance he knew it was the one he
had tried to send by hand to the princess. His gaze darkened, and he looked at
the three humans.

“Where did you find
this?” he asked sharply. Duncan spoke.

“We found it laying aside
the road.” He said truthfully. Glevanne softened.

“Ah. Then you do not
know what happened to the elf that was delivering it for me?” he asked. They
all shook their heads. “That is a pity. He was,” he stopped and re-said his
thought. “He is one of my most
trusted servants.”

“We be verra sorry we
dinnae ken where yer servant be, but we knew tha’ ye’d most likely not want
just any person to pick yer note to Shetta up, so we thought we’d find either
ye or Shetta an’ deliver it.” Duncan said quickly, forgetting himself in the presence
of a highly ranked elf. Glevanne smiled, liking the honest humans more and
more.

“I thank you for your
concerns, they are much appreciated in times like these.” His face darkened
again. “Most letters are not private any longer, and I especially wished this
one to remain so. You helped in that way, I am very grateful.” He paused a
moment, his eyes going from one of the children’s face to the next. He found
all the faces to be honest, and loyal. This pleased him, for this was the type
he needed for the mission to be done. His gaze rested at last on Justin, and he
spoke his daring plan.

“You are aware of the
contents of the letter?” he asked. Somewhat guiltily, Justin, Duncan and Mary
nodded their heads. He encouraged them with a smile. “Then you know that it is
an urgent message?” he asked again. They again nodded. He again looked in all
their eyes, deeply. “Can you deliver it for me?” he asked. There was a long
silence, and the three siblings exchanged looks. They silently agreed on their
answer. Justin spoke for them.

“Aye, we will.” He
said. Glevanne smiled again.

“Then, here.” He placed
the note back into Duncan’s outstretched palm. “Take this back. I believe Valkin
will be available to escort you to the princess’s quarters. She is safe from
the king for the moment.” He sighed as he said this, a soft shadow coming over
his face. He turned around. “You may go, and my blessing goes with you.” The
siblings exchanged another look, and turned around, going out the door.
Suddenly, Glevanne called out to them.

“Wait!” he said
quickly. The trio looked at him in surprise. He scribbled something down onto a
piece of paper quickly. “Take this to her as well.” He said, and shoved the new
note into Duncan’s hand as well. The elf turned from them and his frame shook
slightly with sobs as the door closed behind the siblings.

Valkin was waiting for
them, just outside the door. He looked into their faces, reading their
thoughts.

“You have a mission.”
He said simply. “Is there any way I can help?” The children looked at him,
gratefully. He took this for an answer and quickly added: “Dusak could help
too, he is always longing for adventure.” Again, the siblings agreed to this,
any help they could get they wanted. Valkin led them silently down the stairs
again, spoke to his brother-in-law, and turned again to the children, a smile
lighting up his features.

“He will come.” He
said. There was a collective sigh of relief from the children. Dusak came up
behind Valkin and gave them a grin.

“j hesik flenitt.” (I
want adventure.) He said, “demis de aknef.”(This place is dull.) Mary and Valkin laughed with Dusak, but the boys
gave a confused smile to the group. Quickly, Mary translated, and soon Vinea
joined them and let Dusak know that she had made dinner for all of them. She
looked at the three children and smiled.

“I made enough for
them, too.” She said. Justin and Duncan both rubbed their stomachs, hungry at
just the mention of food; they hadn’t had breakfast or lunch, let alone dinner.

During dinner, Duncan
leaned over to Valkin.

“How many elves ken our
language?” he asked. Valkin thought awhile.

“Well, all the Elves in
the castle must know your language or they can’t get a job here. There’s a few
others milling about, and most Elfin school children are taught it as a second
language, but with communicating, we mostly speak in elfin tongue.” He said.
Duncan sat back in his chair, satisfied with an answer, but Justin now turned
to Valkin.

“Can we, Duncan and I,
learn it?” he asked. Valkin looked at him with a smile.

Hi, I'm Rebekah Eddy. Welcome to my blog. Let me tell you a little about myself...I'm a Christian, homeschooled young lady, and the daughter of the senior pastor of Manchester Community Church. I come from a family of twelve people, yes that means I have nine siblings, and yes I love them all! :) I love music, writing (duh), and reading as well as having a hobby of making jewelry. I am a sinner, saved by grace. My passion is to follow my Savior, Jesus Christ, with all my heart, soul, and mind. All my writing is to His glory. God bless! :D